Pa. caregivers go unpaid after payroll agency snafus

It literally doesn't pay right now for thousands of Pennsylvania direct care workers to help the home-bound disabled.

DAVID PIERCE

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that PCG Public Partnerships LLC has processed about 80 percent of a backlog.)

It literally doesn't pay right now for thousands of Pennsylvania direct care workers to help the home-bound disabled.

Many have gone a month without a paycheck while the state transitions to a new private payment agency. Direct care workers — whose duties are the difference between keeping the disabled at home or putting them into more expensive nursing homes — are at their wits' end.

"We have families to feed," said Melanie Valenti, who helps care for her paralyzed father, George Valenti, at an East Stroudsburg apartment complex. "We have bills to pay."

Melanie, who lives in the same complex, helps her dad, 61, in the evenings with tasks he can't perform since being diagnosed with a severe form of multiple sclerosis. A live-in careworker assists him during the day.

All told, four people care for George Valenti. One has a baby at home to support. For two others, it is their only source of income. Melanie Valenti herself is owed $636.

Caregivers for 20,000 disabled Pennsylvanians used to be paid by one of 37 private agencies, once the workers' regular hours had been approved by the state Department of Public Welfare.

PCG Public Partnerships LLC of Boston has been awarded a $46.5 million, two-year contract to take over payment services for the entire state, with options for two additional years.

PCG has processed payrolls for workers serving about 80 percent of the 20,000 disabled, company spokeswoman Dina Wolfman Baker said. But the transition has been complicated by problems in getting all the former payment agencies to turn over data, she said.

Many don't have the system capability to transfer the electronic files, she said, while others have refused to make the transfers.

"We share concern for them and are doing everything we can every day to be sure they're getting paid," Baker said.

The biggest frustration among caregivers is an inability to even speak to someone at PCG who can check the status of their payments. Many have turned for help to the Monroe County Area Agency on Aging, which serves disabled residents over age 60.

"The problems are so varied that it's hard for me to believe it's just the other agency," said Joanne Karasek, a program manager at the aging office. "We shouldn't have to resolve this. We're doing everything we can, but we're having trouble reaching them."

Agencies and caregivers were trained "months ago" on using a PCG payroll portal that still isn't operational, Karasek said.

Melanie Valenti longs for the days when Allied Services, based in northeast Pennsylvania, was processing her paychecks.

"They were always great," she said. "We never had a problem with them at all."

Valenti spent several days writing emails and website messages and making phone calls before she was able to reach a live person for help. Two employees told her to contact PCG customer service, which had already told Valenti they were unable to help her.

"And it's not just us," she said. "It's the recipients and it's the (state) Department of Public Welfare. If we could at least get some sort of answer. We can't get anything from them."

Victor Villalta, who cares for his grandmother in Jackson Township, voices similar frustrations.

Villalta, who formerly was paid by Beck N Call, received a letter and paperwork Jan. 3 notifying him of the change. Villalta, who earns $9 per hour, is owed $1,600 in gross pay for work done since late December.

"I keep calling, and they put me on hold," he said. "Eventually they sent me to voicemail and said they'll call back. I submitted my paperwork as soon as I got it. What does it say about them?"

The transition to PCG will eventually lead to a more efficient, cost-effective service, Department of Public Welfare spokeswoman Anne Bale said.

"Thousands of pieces of information are being moved from several organizations into one," Bale said. "We are trying to work closely with Public Partnership to identify the issues so that they're fixed."

An unusually large call volume has put a strain on the company's phone system, Baker said, but PCG has had 89,000 conversations with Pennsylvania recipients and caregivers. "We share concern for them and are doing everything we can every day to be sure they're getting paid," Baker said. "We're really moving through it as fast as we can."

PCG Public Partnerships has successfully managed similar payment takeovers in 10 other states, she said.